Random Harvest (1942)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Claudine West (screenplay) and
George Froeschel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 September 1943 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's Great. Great Stars . . . A Great Story . . . A Great Author!

Plot:

An amnesiac World War I vet falls in love with a music hall star, only to suffer an accident which restores his original memories but erases his post-War life.

Plot Keywords:

Music Hall | Asylum | Secretary | Inheritance | Amnesia

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars.

Cast

Ronald Colman	...	Smithy
Greer Garson	...	Paula
Philip Dorn	...	Dr. Jonathan Benet
Susan Peters	...	Kitty
Henry Travers	...	Dr. Sims
Reginald Owen	...	'Biffer'
Bramwell Fletcher	...	Assistant
Rhys Williams	...	Sam
Una O'Connor	...	Tobacconist
Aubrey Mather	...	Sheldon
Margaret Wycherly	...	Mrs. Deventer
Arthur Margetson	...	Chet
Melville Cooper	...	Uncle George
Alan Napier	...	Julian
Jill Esmond	...	Lydia

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #8545)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Reported to be Greer Garson's favorite of all her movies.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Paula takes Smitty back to the theatre to see her act, as she is dressing she whistles in the dressing room. No one connected with the theatre would whistle in a dressing room - it is considered bad luck to do so.

Quotes:

Smithy: [Rainier proposed to Ms. Hanson] You and I are in the same boat, Miss Hanson; we're both ghost-ridden. We are prisoners of our past. What if we were to pool our loneliness, and give each other what little we have to give support, friendship? I'm proposing marriage, Miss Hanson, or should I call it a merger...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Ultimate Film (2004) (TV)

As Sidney Pollack says, this is an Essential film.

I've seen Random Harvest a number of times, but recently I watched it twice as part of TCM's Essentials series hosted by Sidney Pollack. This time I was inspired to read the James Hilton novel, Random Harvest, which I recommend to all lovers of the film. If you know the film, you won't get the little surprise at the end of the book -- you will know it already -- but it's still a most enjoyable and heartwarming read. You will see that Smithy/Charles Rainier is quite a young man at the beginning -- however, I did not find Ronald Colman too old in the role, he overcomes the age difference with his splendid performance. And he doesn't seem too old to play Charles Rainier, the prince of industry. I can't imagine another pair who could play the two romantic leads, Greer Garson is so radiant. And all of us who watch old films know that people did look more mature back then -- they looked like real adults! This is such a romantic film, everyone should see it. And Sidney Pollack was right not to remake it -- let well enough alone!